Detection of human beings in a field of view of a camera is used in various systems such as security, combat, and commercial systems. In security systems, the detection of unauthorized persons in areas for which they do not have access permission may be crucial to protect people and property. In combat systems, human detection may be crucial for targeting purposes in order to prevent injury to troops or civilians. In commercial systems, detection of human beings may be used to assist drivers of automobiles in avoiding accidents with pedestrians. In addition, the detection of human beings may be used as inputs to a microprocessor or controller controlling unmanned aircraft or vehicles.
For example, unmanned vehicles may be used to provide surveillance in dangerous areas or situations where threats of bodily harm exist. These unmanned machines may be able to provide feedback in the form of video or audio playback. For example, unmanned machines may be used to assist in crowd control situations. These unmanned machines must be able to distinguish human beings from terrain or other objects so as not to harm these human beings while performing various tasks such as driving.
Various technologies such as LADAR (laser radar), LWIR (long-wave infrared), motions systems, and face recognition software may be used to detect humans. However, each of these various technologies has problems in discriminating human beings from terrain or man-made obstacles. For instance, problems exist using LADAR systems in accurately recognizing a human being in a crouched position from a shrub of similar proportions. Problems also exist in detection of a human being using LWIR when the image contains numerous warm objects as different objects may have similar thermal emission characteristics to that of a human being. Further problems exist in detection of human beings in images due to large variations in location lighting, size, range, and body dimensions of different people. Detection of human beings is even more difficult and unreliable if the sensing device is mounted on a moving platform such as on an automobile or unmanned vehicle.
Thus, it would be advancement in the art to provide a method and apparatus which accurately detects both stationary and moving personnel in a field of view.